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arXiv:0808.0659 · Physical Review A

Enhancement of on-site interactions of tunneling ultracold atoms in optical potentials using radio-frequency dressing

Martin Shotter, Dimitrios Trypogeorgos, Christopher J. Foot

Published Nov 12, 2008• 13 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We show how it is possible to more than double the on-site interaction energy of neutral atoms in optical potentials by the technique of radio-frequency (rf) dressing, while maintaining interwell dynamics. We calculate Bose-Hubbard parameters for rf-dressed optical lattices and arrays of rf-dressed dipole traps. We show that decreasing the distance between wells, by the interpolation of wells confining different ${m}_{F}$ states, increases the interaction energy more than decreasing the height of the classically forbidden region between existing wells. The schemes we propose have negligible Landau-Zener losses caused by atomic motion; this was a dominant effect in the first experimental demonstration of the modification of an optical potential by radio-frequency dressing.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.78.051602

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We show how it is possible to more than double the on-site interaction energy of neutral atoms in optical potentials by the technique of radio-frequency (rf) dressing, while maintaining interwell dynamics. We calculate Bose-Hubbard parameters for rf-dressed optical lattices and arrays of rf-dressed dipole traps. We show that decreasing the distance between wells, by the interpolation of wells confining different mF{m}_{F}mF​ states, increases the interaction energy more than decreasing the height of the classically forbidden region between existing wells. The schemes we propose have negligible Landau-Zener losses caused by atomic motion; this was a dominant effect in the first experimental demonstration of the modification of an optical potential by radio-frequency dressing.
We load a Bose-Einstein condensate into a one-dimensional (1D) optical lattice altered through the use of radio-frequency (rf) dressing. The rf resonantly couples the three levels of the 87Rb^{87}\mathrm{Rb}87Rb F=1F=1F=1 manifold and combines with a spin-dependent ``bare'' optical lattice to result in adiabatic potentials of variable shape, depth, and spatial frequency content. We choose dressing parameters such that the altered lattice is stable over lifetimes exceeding tens of ms at higher depths than in previous work. We observe significant differences between the BEC momentum distributions of the dressed lattice as compared to the bare lattice, and find general agreement with a 1D band-structure calculation informed by the dressing parameters. Previous work using such lattices was limited by very shallow dressed lattices and strong Landau-Zener tunneling loss between adiabatic potentials, equivalent to failure of the adiabatic criterion. In this work we operate with significantly stronger rf coupling (increasing the avoided-crossing gap between adiabatic potentials), observing dressed lifetimes of interest for optical lattice-based analog solid-state physics.
We present the first experimental demonstration of a multiple radio-frequency dressed potential for the configurable magnetic confinement of ultracold atoms. We load cold 87Rb^{87}\mathrm{Rb}87Rb atoms into a double-well potential with an adjustable barrier height, formed by three radio-frequencies applied to atoms in a static quadrupole magnetic field. Our multiple radio-frequency approach gives precise control over the double-well characteristics, including the depth of individual wells and the height of the barrier, and enables reliable transfer of atoms between the available trapping geometries. We characterize the multiple radio-frequency dressed system using radio-frequency spectroscopy, finding good agreement with the eigenvalues numerically calculated using Floquet theory. This method creates trapping potentials that can be reconfigured by changing the amplitudes, polarizations, and frequencies of the applied dressing fields and easily extended with additional dressing frequencies.
We explore properties of atoms whose magnetic hyperfine sublevels are coupled by an external magnetic radio frequency (rf) field. We perform a thorough theoretical analysis of this driven system and present a number of systematic approximations which eventually give rise to dressed adiabatic radio frequency potentials. The predictions of this analytical investigation are compared to numerically exact results obtained by a wave packet propagation. We outline the versatility and flexibility of this class of potentials and demonstrate their potential use to build atom optical elements such as double wells, interferometers, and ringtraps. Moreover, we perform simulations of interference experiments carried out in rf induced double-well potentials. We discuss how the nature of the atom-field coupling mechanism gives rise to a decrease of the interference contrast.
Time-varying fields are widely used to extend the accessible range of trapping potentials for ultracold atoms. This work explores two very different examples of such fields, in the radiofrequency and optical regimes, whose interactions with trapped atoms can both be described in terms of the dressed atom picture. Forming the basis of this work are radiofrequency dressed adiabatic potentials based on macroscopic trapping coils. Atoms are confined at the south pole of the resultant oblate spheroidal trapping surfaces. This work describes the extension of these potentials by two different methods: the application of multiple dressing radiofrequencies, and addition of a rapidly-scanned optical dipole trap. This is the first experimental demonstration of a multiple-radiofrequency dressed adiabatic potential, explored using ultracold 87Rb atoms confined in a highly configurable double well. Due to the independent generation of each constituent dressing frequency, the depth of each trapping well and the height of the barrier are easily manipulated, enabling precise and reliable transfer of atoms between the available trapping geometries. Experimental work includes an exploration of the potential-shaping capabilities of the three-radiofrequency system, and characterisation of the potential landscape using radiofrequency spectroscopy with good agreement to the eigenvalues numerically calculated using Floquet theory. This initial exploration of multiple-radiofrequency techniques lays the groundwork for applications in studying double well physics in a two-dimensional system, and independent state or species selective manipulation of trapped atoms. The potential shaping capabilities of this method can also be extended by applying additional trapping frequencies. In a supplementary line of experimental work, an optical dipole trapping system has been constructed, and the trapping beam aligned to the lower surface of the radiofrequency dressed trapping shell in order to sculpt the radial confinement. Beam shaping is achieved using an acousto-optic deflector, which can be used to produce either a composite array of static deflected beams, a rapidly-scanned painted potential, or some combination of the two approaches. The development and extension of the experimental apparatus required to implement these enhanced dressed state potentials is explored, and the challenges of their experimental implementation considered.
We have developed experimental techniques to confine two species of ultracold atoms in trapping potentials that are independently controlled by applied radiofrequency (rf) fields. Elementary species-selective manipulations are demonstrated for the isotopes 85Rb and 87Rb, such as changing the relative positions of the species. More detailed manipulations are possible, such as creating a double-well potential for one species that is overlapped with a single harmonic well of the other. We observed that both isotopes have long lifetimes in the rf-dressed potentials when separate; this is well known for 87Rb which has very favourable collision properties, but the stability of 85Rb in rf-dressed potentials had not previously been demonstrated. A large rate of inelastic inter-species collisions was observed when the clouds were brought together, and our results identify this as being due to two-body collisions between 85Rb and 87Rb. We explain the origin of these losses using a qualitative model. Our experimental data is compared to computations of the inelastic loss rate coefficients that have been carried out using coupled-channel calculations by theoretical chemists at Durham University. We have created double-well potentials for ultracold atoms by dressing with three rfs, as reported in our published work. Since this first demonstration we have eliminated sources of noise from the experimental apparatus using a systematic method, enabling a quantum degenerate gas of 87Rb to be loaded into a double-well potential with 6.7 micron separation between the wells. This is an order of magnitude improvement over our previously published work, and this separation is confirmed by matter-wave interference observed between atoms released from the two wells. In the near future, this apparatus will be able to split a quantum degenerate, two-dimensional gas, as has been performed for one-dimensional gases elsewhere. Moreover, many technical improvements have been implemented, allowing large amounts of data to be measured under highly reproducible conditions.
This thesis presents quantum simulation of strongly-correlated systems beyond standard Hubbard models, using ultracold fermionic potassium atoms in both static and periodically-driven optical superlattices. For this study, we utilize a three-dimensional optical lattice setup, controlling particle interactions via magnetic Feshbach resonances and tunneling between lattice sites through optical lattice intensity. High-resolution absorption imaging combined with radio-frequency spectroscopy distinguishes between singly and doubly occupied sites. To enhance our systems capabilities beyond the standard Hubbard model, we extend the apparatus with an in-plane optical superlattice, creating a bi-chromatic structure by superposition of two optical lattices with commensurate lattice spacings. Using a phase locked loop with an environmental feed forward, we create an excellent phase stability of the superlattice exceeding 3 mrad. This precision allows us to explore both static and periodically-driven one-dimensional tight-binding models with strong interactions. We characterize the static superlattice through radio-frequency spectroscopy and Rabi oscillations, and validate the experimental data against theoretical calculations. In a tilted superlattice configuration, we successfully prepare and detect repulsively bound atom pairs, representing a highly excited eigenstate of the system. Furthermore, we demonstrate control over pair tunneling dynamics in a double-well potential using Floquet engineering, employing a low-noise periodic modulation of the optical superlattice tilt. Using an adiabatic band mapping technique, we directly observe the tunneling dynamics in the driven superlattice. We realize dynamic localization in quarter-filled wells and density-assisted tunneling up to the third harmonic order in half-filled wells. We observe a crossover from density-assited tunneling to dominant pair tunneling by tuning the effective interactions. Remarkably, the pair tunneling is not only enhanced relative to the suppressed single-particle tunneling but also exceeds the superexchange rate of a static double-well by more than a factor of two. This opens the possibility to study many-body systems with dominant pair tunneling, that extend beyond the standard Hubbard model.